The music industry is famous for one-hit wonders.
Think about it. You may know "Magic" as the Ozempic song, but do you remember Pilot, the group that recorded the song in the 1970s?
Does Dexys Midnight Runners ring a bell?
And how about the totally forgettable A-ha who gave us the still catchy "Take On Me"?
Horse racing also has its one-hit wonders, horses who turn in an impressive race in their first or second start only to fall short in subsequent starts and become irrelevant.
The $500,000 Champagne Stakes (G1) for 2-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack is one of those races where you might find some of the one-hit wonders of the future.
But it could give us a new, dazzling star as well.
That will be the case Oct. 4 when a field of nine filled mostly with promising maiden winners who have started just once or twice will clash in the one-turn mile that will provide the winner with a free spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.
If there's a star in the field at the moment it would be Double Down Horse Racing's It's Our Time, whose astonishing debut went platinum in music parlance.
A son of Not This Time , he posted as lopsided a debut win as Saratoga Race Course has ever seen when he accelerated like a rocket in the stretch and drew off to win by 17 3/4 lengths while covering the 6 1/2 furlongs in a blistering 1:15.63 for trainer Tom Amoss.
"It was a much-talked-about race and now he is going to have to show that he can do it against accomplished horses," Amoss said. "To that extent, he has a lot to live up to, so the pressure is on him. He's got a bit of a target on his back."
As strange as it may seem after the race, heading into that Aug. 16 maiden special weight It's Our Time was not the reputed "fastest horse in the world." That role went to Hero Declared, who was the 3-5 favorite and finished second to It's Our Time—by nearly 18 lengths.
"I thought he was well prepared. In the paddock, I liked his composure and how he handled himself but I did not see that coming," said Amoss, whose 2-year-old was sent off as the 5-1 second choice. "Hero Declared was the one they talked about and when he made the lead pretty comfortably, I was like, 'Well, I guess he is what they said he was.' Then I was surprised when It's Our Time went right by him in the stretch."
The two choices for a second and final start before the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile came down to the one-turn mile Champagne or Saturday's two-turn, 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. Though It's Our Time has been training at Churchill Downs, Amoss opted for a return trip to New York.
"One of the reasons we picked the New York race is because it's a one-turn race and we're transitioning to more distance," Amoss said. "It's a pretty easy transition, especially compared to going to two turns. I like the way we're doing it for a horse like this."
Bred by South Gate Farm in Virginia out of the Summer Front mare Shea D Summer, It's Our Time was bought for $425,000 from the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Of the eight rivals who will take on It's Our Time, two have graded stakes experience, led by Curtain Call, who was third for trainer Mark Casse in the Hopeful Stakes (G1), 8 1/2 lengths behind Ted Noffey, who is entered in the Breeders' Futurity. The son of 2019 Champagne winner Tiz the Law is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds with popular social media influencer Griffin Johnson included in the group. Hopeful fifth-place finisher Aye Eye is also entered.
Four of the starters are coming off maiden wins.
Topping that group are two notable debut winners in Napoleon Solo and Talkin.
Gold Square's Napoleon Solo, named after the iconic television super spy by owner Al Gold, was a sharp, 5 1/4-length winner of a Aug. 8 maiden special weight race at Saratoga for horses who sold or were bought back for $60,000 or less at their most recent sale.
Trained by Chad Summers, Napoleon Solo is a son of Liam's Map out of the Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde.
Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, and R. A. Hill Stable's Talkin won an Aug. 30 Saratoga maiden race by a neck for trainer Danny Gargan.
The son of Good Magic narrowly prevailed over Kaleem Shah's Stradale (Yaupon ), a fellow Champagne starter trained by Steve Asmussen, who is searching for his first win.
Belmont at the Big A, Saturday, October 4, 2025, Race 7Entries: Champagne S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Curtain Call (FL) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 Mark E. Casse - 2 Stradale (KY) Manuel Franco 122 Steven M. Asmussen - 3 Universe (KY) Christopher Elliott 122 Kenneth G. McPeek - 4 Aye Eye (KY) Samuel Marin 122 Joseph F. Orseno - 5 Just Asap (KY) Florent Geroux 122 Mark E. Casse - 6 It's Our Time (VA) Luis Saez 122 Thomas M. Amoss - 7 Stickupwithoutagun (NY) Luis R. Rivera, Jr. 122 Kenneth G. McPeek - 8 Napoleon Solo (KY) Joel Rosario 122 Chad Summers - 9 Talkin (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 122 Danny Gargan -
